Big changes for five-star Redfield

Two big things happened for Max Redfield on Monday: He became a new five-star by Rivals.com, and Oregon backed away from recruiting him.

According to the Mission Viejo, Calif., five-star safety, the Oregon coaching staff told him they didn't have a scholarship for him and that they believed he was going to sign with Notre Dame so they didn't want him to take an official visit.

"They told me they are out of scholarships and think I'm pretty set on Notre Dame so they aren't allowing me to take a trip there," Redfield said in a text message.

Redfield, rated third at his position and No. 24 in the 2013 class by Rivals.com, visited Notre Dame in October for its thrilling victory against Stanford and had an excellent trip to South Bend.

Prior to that visit, Redfield had de-committed from USC, but now with Oregon backing off from recruiting him, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound prospect is expected to visit the Trojans this weekend. It has to be thought that they're again in the mix.

After he backed off his pledge to the Trojans, Notre Dame and Oregon emerged as the favorites for Redfield, but the Ducks coaching staff apparently became convinced that the new five-star would end up in South Bend, thus ending their pursuit.

Redfield said he was "kind of bummed" that Oregon backed off and it is definitely one of the biggest surprising twists of this recruiting cycle.

Many close to Redfield felt, even when he was committed to USC, that Oregon had become a serious contender in his recruitment. An official visit was apparently being worked on. Sources said they believed the Ducks were right there.

But Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly visited Redfield and his family last week and the Mission Viejo star definitely has had interest in the Irish throughout his recruitment, so Oregon's coaches decided to focus elsewhere.